By the fifth century, Buddhism had been thriving in Gandhara and the Swat Valley (northern Pakistan) for six hundred years, financed by the extensive trade that flowed through the Khyber and Karakorum passes. Trade with the Mediterranean began with an overland route established by Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C. By 50 B.C. maritime routes allowed merchants to sail down the Red Sea and to take advantage of monsoon winds to cross the Arabian Sea and reach ports along the west coast of India. Trade goods were transported along the Indus River up to Gandhara and then to China via routes passing through Afghanistan or over high Himalayan passes and then through Central Asia.

Between 450 and 520 this trade pattern was disrupted by an invasion of nomadic people from the Central Asian Steppes. They swept through Afghanistan, Gandhara, the Swat Valley, and Kashmir, eventually reaching the plains of north India. The invaders probably comprised several Hun groups known by various names—notably the Hephthalites in Gandhara and the Hunas in India. They ruled briefly in Gandhara and Kashmir and fought battles in north India that destabilized the Gupta Empire. Of great significance, these invasions brought north India in contact with Kashmir, Gandhara, and, ultimately, Afghanistan. As a consequence, the Gupta artistic style of north India pervaded the Buddhist art of Kashmir and the Swat Valley, reaching as far as Afghanistan.These invasions also appear to have forced Gandharan monks into Afghanistan and western Central Asia, and a corresponding taste for Gandharan classical forms became important at Buddhist centers in these areas. In Central Asia, This exhibition focuses on the western regions of Central Asia in the Tarim basin—sites such as Kizil, Turfan, and Khotan where contact with Afghanistan and, by extension, Gandhara and ultimately north India is evident. The sites around Khotan are especially interesting, as they sit at the mouth of a pass that crossed the high Himalayas to reach Gandhara and the Swat Valley.

Bodhisattvas with mustaches! A very interesting backwater of Buddhism with its own art style.

At one point in my life, fate had me taking a taxi north from Peshawar into the Swat valley. Along the way I stopped at a local museum. In the museum were many terracotta Buddhist statues, some of which had been broken open and their insides also put on display. I was awe struck. Many little shiny white "pills." Same vibe as the old Dhamek Stupa at Sarnath.

Also found what appeared to be a 24 karet gold statue of Vajrakilaya with incredible workmanship, labeled "Hindu God." I had heard stories that Vajrayana Buddhism was practiced in the Swat valley and here was proof.